8th Circuit Pauses Limits on ICE Protest Tactics in Minnesota

The 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals has stayed a recent injunction by U.S. District Judge Kate Menendez that barred federal immigration officers in Minnesota from using tear gas and other aggressive tactics on peaceful protesters, restoring full crowd‑control options for DHS while the government appeals. The ruling comes amid Operation Metro Surge, the Trump administration’s large‑scale immigration enforcement campaign in the Twin Cities, which Border Patrol commander Greg Bovino says has arrested more than 10,000 people lacking legal status in the past year, including 3,000 "dangerous offenders" in the last six weeks—figures advocates say they cannot independently verify. At the same time, Maine Secretary of State Shenna Bellows has refused a U.S. Customs and Border Protection request for additional confidential license plates, citing "abuses of power" in the administration’s crackdown and saying she will not issue new plates without assurance they won’t be used for "lawless purposes." Federal prosecutors have also served grand‑jury subpoenas on Minnesota state and local leaders who oppose the operation, deepening a confrontation over whether officials tried to obstruct enforcement. The article notes a separate Minnesota case in which a judge indicated he would grant bond to two men accused of assaulting an immigration officer—one of whom was shot in the thigh—after hearing conflicting testimony, underscoring how contested narratives over officer safety and protester conduct are driving both courtroom and political battles around the crackdown.